(1) What is UtahsRight.com?
The website is operated by The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah's largest newspaper, with the aim of making an array of useful and interesting databases available and accessible to the public.

The site, so named because it provides data that Utahns have a “right to know,” brings to one central location a host of public information that had previously been scattered on various government and private Web sites or unavailable online-- all of it easily searchable.

As such, UtahsRight.com reflects a new definition of "news and information" provided to readers by a traditional media outlet, according to the UtahsRight.com site manager.

Everything that appears on UtahsRight.com has already been released by government agencies, or has been obtained with official open-records requests filed directly with government agencies that maintain the records. Where Utah agencies are involved, this data usually is obtained under the state Government Records Access and Management Act, also known as GRAMA.

False name matches are common, and finding a familiar name in these databases DOES NOT constitute positive identification. Users are urged to find independent confirmation of any findings drawn from these records. Complete records, which often include birthdates and addresses, are available at courts offices.

(6) Do you list names and salaries of government workers in Utah?
Yes. UtahsRight.com and The Tribune are seeking and posting the compensation and salaries of public officials at all levels of government in Utah, including cities, counties, state government, school districts, higher education, transit districts, special service districts, and other agencies that use taxpayer funds.

Government agencies provided their data in a variety of formats and levels of detail, but records in the databases in nearly all cases include current salaries of officials by name, from the highest paid to part-time and entry-level workers.

However, names may be deleted in extremely rare instances. Examples include government jobs that require confidentiality, such as undercover law enforcement officers; or other situations where listing a name creates direct and demonstrable threat to personal security.

If the data you seek is not posted here, there could be one of a couple of reasons.

Some government agencies do not provide their salary data to the state Division of Finance, although they are require by law to do so. The data may also have been provided to The Tribune directly in non-electronic form and posting it has been delayed while it is transcribed into a suitable format. Some data may be partial and The Tribune is working with the agency for a more complete report.

Or, in rare circumstances, the government agency has delayed or declined to agree to our GRAMA request and The Tribune's has filed an administrative appeal in the case.

On our homepage, we offer a regularly updated list of the latest databases we've posted and of those coming soon.